This invention relates in general to certain new and useful improvements in mattresses having fluid containing internal chambers and the method of making the same and, more particularly, to mattresses of the type stated which include an upper fluid chamber which is surrounded by a lower material containing chamber but which permits the upper chamber to be substantially contiguous with a portion of the upper surface of the mattress.
In recent years, water beds have become widely commercially acceptable and have found substantially increased use. It has now been fairly well recognized that water beds, that is those forms of beds which employ a water filled mattress, have not only enjoyment value, but therapeutic value as well. In general, it has been found that many people find that it is not only more enjoyable, but is more restful to sleep on a water bed mattress than other forms of conventional mattresses filled with solid, but nevertheless, resilient, material.
The present commercially available water bed mattresses generally comprise a rectangular shell formed primarily of some form of a fairly flexible plastic material and which is filled with water. This form of water bed mattress is thereupon supported in, and by virture of its construction is required to be supported in, a rigid frame.
In recent years, there have been various other forms of water bed mattresses which include an air frame peripherally surrounding a water bladder, as for example in the Penn et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,778,852, and the Pennington et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,787,907. This latter form of water bed mattress, which includes a surrounding air frame, is typically referred to as an air frame water bed mattress. These air frame mattresses differ substantially from the pure water bed mattress, without the air frame, in that those mattresses including the air frame do not require the employment of a rigid structural frame.
The presently available water bed mattresses which do not include the air frame suffer from a large number of deficiencies such as the fact that these mattresses do not obviate the problem of wave action created in the water in the water chamber due to a sudden localized force. Consequently, when a person lies upon a water bed mattress without the surrounding air frame, the water shifts substantially thereby creating substantial wave action and also the attendant displacement of the surface contour of the mattress.
The other forms of water bed mattresses including the air frame surrounding the water bladder, as exemplified by the Penn et. al. Patent and the Pennington et al. Patent mentioned above, also suffer from a number of substantial disadvantages. It has again been well established that those water beds which include the surrounding air frame and which avoid the necessity of a rigid frame do not provide the required degree of comfort. It has been theorized that these water bed mattresses eliminate some of the wave action which is created by a sudden localized force. Nevertheless, it is also well established that the air bladder is relatively incompressible with respect to the water bladder. Consequently, the water bed mattresses which include the surrounding air frame do not provide constant and adequate support. The same generally holds true of those water bed mattresses which do not employ the air frame surrounding the water bladder. One of the primary problems of each of these conventional water beds is that they do not provide equal water flotation with respect to the entire upper surface of the water bed mattress.
Another important disadvantage with respect to the water bed mattresses of each of the aforementioned types is that they are not constantly sized with respect to a supporting structure or, otherwise, a supporting frame. Consequently, difficulty often arises in fitting the water bed mattress, when filled with water, or otherwise with water in the water bladder and air in the air bladder, to the supporting frame or a supporting structure. Even more importantly, these water bed mattresses which are presently commercially available do not provide any adequate safety feature in the event of punctures in the mattress itself which could result in immediate and substantially discharge of water with resultant damage.
The present invention obviates these and other problems in the provision of a fluid containing mattress which includes a pair of upper and lower sheets having peripherally extending, perpendicularly struck side wall flaps. These side wall flaps are secured to each other in order to form an outer peripheral end wall, thereby defining a rectangularly shaped water bed mattress. An inner peripheral wall which is tapered extends between the upper and lower walls. This inner peripheral wall extends substantially toward the outer peripheral margin of the upper wall and is inwardly spaced from the outer peripheral margin of the lower wall and is sealed thereto. In this way, an upper fluid chamber is established between the upper wall, the bottom wall and the inner peripheral wall. Moreover, a lower chamber is established by the outer wall, the lower wall and the inner peripheral wall. In accordance with this construction, the fluid chamber is substantially contiguous with the upper wall so that a person lying on the mattress is completely supported by the fluid chamber with constant flotation. Nevertheless, the lower chamber contains a material which renders it essentially more rigid and surrounds the outer edge of the entire mattress, although the party lying on the mattress does not actually contact the lower chamber portion.
It is therefore the primary object of the present invention to provide a water bed mattress which includes a fluid chamber having a surface substantially across the entire upper surface of said mattress and which is capable of supporting an individual, and a lower chamber surrounding at least a lower portion of the fluid chamber.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a mattress of the type stated which is relatively light in weight, when filled with water or comparable fluid in the fluid chamber, compared to commercially available forms of water bed mattresses.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a mattress of the type stated which provides constant body support on the upper surface thereof.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a mattress of the type stated which is capable of reducing wave action in the fluid chamber of the mattress created by the impingement of localized forces.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a mattress of the type stated which is durable in its construction and provides a safety feature substantially greater than any conventional available form of water bed mattress.
It is another salient object of the present invention to provide a method of making the mattress of the type stated which is highly efficient in its operation and requires a minimal amount of manual labor.
With the above and other objects in view, my invention resides in the novel features of form, construction, arrangement and combination of parts presently described and pointed out in the claims.